Long range rifle scopes

[iceman91m]

Hello all, Im going to buy a new scope for long range shooting, I just need feedback and ideas on what to look for/get. I currently have a .300 Win Mag with a Leupold VX-3 3.5-10x40 with the B&C reticle, and Im not lovin it like i thought i would. I have been looking at several scopes like the Huskemaw, a NighForce benchrest model, the Millett LRS 1/4 MOA Click Illuminated & .1 Mil Click Illuminated. I am new to long range shooting and know next to nothing about MOA shooting. All of these scopes are candidates for my hunting rifle. I hunt the high country for deer and the westside for elk. If anyone has any of these scopes, have used one of them or knows of something better I could use, any input you could give me, as well as the area you hunt shots you have take ect.. is appriciated.

Thanks!!!

[Mustangman]

You know Leupold makes turrents for that scope to turn it into a long range scope. Could be cheaper...

[Timberstalker]

Have you looked at sheppard scopes.  They are a great long range scope.  Custom built to your load.

[carpsniperg2]

night force is super sweet but super spendy. i like the vxIII 8.5-25 for long range target shooting. 10 power is pretty week for people wanting to shoot long range if i had 2k to spend i would buy a nightforce in a heartbeat. my leupold was around 1000.00 very nice scope.

[Jamieb]

IMHO the nightforce is a great scope for a heavy gun but too big and heavy for  most hunting rifles.
I run leupolds with turrets on my long range rifles and the 3.5X10X40 is my favorite but most of the areas I hunt, I'm hunting both open clearcuts and thick timber in the same day. My varmint rifles wear 6X18's or 6.5x20's but the most x's I will run on a big game rifle is 4.5X14 but hunt anywhere that is all open enough to have a rifle that is only for long range.

[G.R.K]

Have M1'S or CDS turrets put on that Leupold VX-3 3.5-10x40.

[iceman91m]

IMHO the nightforce is a great scope for a heavy gun but too big and heavy for  most hunting rifles.
I run leupolds with turrets on my long range rifles and the 3.5X10X40 is my favorite but most of the areas I hunt, I'm hunting both open clearcuts and thick timber in the same day. My varmint rifles wear 6X18's or 6.5x20's but the most x's I will run on a big game rifle is 4.5X14 but hunt anywhere that is all open enough to have a rifle that is only for long range.

I also live in WA. What area do you hunt and what do you hunt for?

[iceman91m]

I just remembered this is the hunting washington forum

[iceman91m]

Have M1'S or CDS turrets put on that Leupold VX-3 3.5-10x40.

I honestly dont really like the scope, I want something bigger. I have poor eyesight

[Lightning_Rider]

i have a Leupold VX II 6-18 with turrets on my 300RUM and love it. I've got it shootin out to 700yds right now but i plan on reachin 1000 very soon!

[MichaelJ]

First, what is your definition of "Long Range Hunting"?  And do you plan on adjusting for elevation and wind by using holdovers or clicking up your turrets?

Just remember that the "calibrated" turrets for most rifles are not accurate for all weather conditions and elevations.  Point of impact between 1500' ASL and 7000' ASL can be quite a bit depending on your setup and I wouldn't trust them for shooting game much past 400-500 yds or so depending on what the setup was.

Mike

[MichaelJ]

JimmyHoffa, most of the guys doing that kind of stuff are using ultra big bases ~ 40 MOA bases, the most popular one for 1K yd shooting is a 20 MOA base (others like 30 MOA) which still allows for an 'easy' 100 yd zero which if you ran a 40 MOA base you will run into problems with some caliber and scope combinations to get that same 100 yd zero.  Guys are using 20 MOA bases and 308's to get to 1K yds and still have room for a 100 yd zero so I doubt the OP is going to run into that issue.  Unless he plans on going further than 1K yds for hunting, but I HIGHLY doubt that....

Mike

[jjhunter]

I have Leupold L.R., Nightforce BR, and Nightforce NXS.   My current hunting rifle wears an NXS 5.5x22x50.   It is mounted in NF titanium rings on a NF 20 MOA rail.   The scope itself has 100 MOA of internal adjustment.   Enough elevation to get those 190 Bergers at 3100 fps waaaaaaayyyyyyy out there.  The perfect combination for LR hunting.

[MichaelJ]

Those NXS's are friggen sweet JJ!
I was able to lay down my best group tonight with the new 280 ackley... got a whoppin .11 MOA 3 shot group at 100 yards with fireforming loads!  Still haven't shot any of the ackley loads yet but am gettin anxious!

Mike

[jjhunter]

Gotta love hunting rifles that will shoot in the teens....I shot this little nugget last weekend off a bipod @ 100.

[MichaelJ]

Nice!  Here's a group I shot yesterday and it even included my coldbore shot as well!     Shot on the far left was after adjusting and was the start of another group... 



Mike

[MtnMuley]

Huskemaw.  Once you put in the work learning how to shoot LR, this scope will hang with any of them.  855 yd pass though last week on a bull, left him in his tracks.  If I thought there was a better LR system out there for hunting purposes, I'd buy it.

[MichaelJ]

Huskemaw.  Once you put in the work learning how to shoot LR, this scope will hang with any of them.  855 yd pass though last week on a bull, left him in his tracks.  If I thought there was a better LR system out there for hunting purposes, I'd buy it.

They are good scopes, I've never used one but from what I understand you 'zero' you're turrets at each yardage such as 100, 200, 300, 400...etc???  And unless you're able to zero your turrets with these scopes at the same elevation and environmental conditions as what you'll be shooting your game at, then you're POI can be drastically different at longer ranges...  especially without high BC bullets.  Please correct if i'm wrong...

Mike

[MtnMuley]

Not true.  That's what makes the Huskemaw system the best in my opinion MichaelJ.  Different turrets for different elevations, temperatures, and windages.  Once you're at your zero, you take off the turret and swap it for another turret for different conditions, and you're ready to rock.  Once you get your gun completely dialed in, you send them the info the they built the turrets for you.  However, I perfer to leave the MOA turret on the gun, and make hundreds of cheat sheets for all the elevations I hunt.  Windage is built in with hashmarks.  They are seem very precise with their turrets.  I have several friends that weren't happy sending their gun off to them to do the work though.  We did everything ourselves and have several hundred hours into them.  I also have an angle co-sign indicator on my rail to determine the shot angle.  That info is also on my cheat sheets with each elevation and temperature.  I use high BC bullets, so I've never seen a problem with down range accuracy. 

[rbros]

I wasn't impressed to much with the Huskema scopes.  The first one they sent me wouldn't track correctly, the second to fix the first one had floating in the scope that came and went, sent it back.  They sent one to me for evaluation purposes.

If you are going to put the time into verifying drop data, then the Nightforce scopes with a NP-R1 reticle are hard to beat.  They give you MOA windage and elevation.  You dial for a shot, if its off for whatever reason, the marks on the reticle allow a quick followup.  They are what I generally put on rifle packages, and run on all of my personal rifles ....hunting and competition.  They are dependable and rock solid.  A little heavier than I would like, but the reliability is worth the little extra weight. 

My main hunting rifle has been all over the Western states, up mountains, beat around on quads and trucks, dropped, packed in backpacks, scope maxed out for elevation a couple times, and still hasn't moved zero in 4 years of using it.  Groups like this:

 

[jjhunter]

+1

I shoot NF for consistency (tracking) and reliability (literally, bullet proof) - In the long range game, this is paramount.

I also shoot the NP-R1 reticle - best long range hunting reticle out there.   

[longrange7mm]

Huskemaw.  Once you put in the work learning how to shoot LR, this scope will hang with any of them.  855 yd pass though last week on a bull, left him in his tracks.  If I thought there was a better LR system out there for hunting purposes, I'd buy it.

+1 ive shot alot of Huskemaws and have yet to have a problem with them, and for a newbie that is just getting into it the scope is perfect 

[MichaelJ]

Not true.  That's what makes the Huskemaw system the best in my opinion MichaelJ.  Different turrets for different elevations, temperatures, and windages.  Once you're at your zero, you take off the turret and swap it for another turret for different conditions, and you're ready to rock.  Once you get your gun completely dialed in, you send them the info the they built the turrets for you.  However, I perfer to leave the MOA turret on the gun, and make hundreds of cheat sheets for all the elevations I hunt.  Windage is built in with hashmarks.  They are seem very precise with their turrets.  I have several friends that weren't happy sending their gun off to them to do the work though.  We did everything ourselves and have several hundred hours into them.  I also have an angle co-sign indicator on my rail to determine the shot angle.  That info is also on my cheat sheets with each elevation and temperature.  I use high BC bullets, so I've never seen a problem with down range accuracy. 

I stand corrected then...
As far as the NP-R1reticle goes on the nightforce they look like this:


The lines are either MOA or MIL based so if you are in the field and see an animal at say 700 yds with no wind,instead of dialing up your turrets for say 4 mils or 14.4 MOA you would just use the reticle hash mark that represents 14.5 MOA or 4 MILS.  A lot of guys will dial for elevation and use their reticle for windage adjustments...

[MichaelJ]

BTW rbros that is a WICKED 300 yd group!  Nice shooting! 

Mike

[MtnMuley]

Thanks for the info MichaelJ.  That looks like a good system, but too busy for me.  Personally, I like one crosshair.  I have several Leupold varmint hunter and Boone and Crocket reticle scopes that I had planned on working with, but I could never get used to the fixed lines.  I've been out of the loop on LR scopes for a while now, but need to get back to searching througher some of the newer NF stuff. 

[jjhunter]

Don't you use a fixed reticle with many lines on it jj?  I thought a while back you said you didn't use a turret.

I use a turret if I have time; however, a true 1 MOA elevation reticle allows very quick and accurate shot placement at extended ranges.

[Wile E. Hunter]

I have a 8.5X25X50 Leupold long range target on my 700 Sendero in .25-06. with the Varmint reticle. VERY PLEASED.

[MtnMuley]

Don't you use a fixed reticle with many lines on it jj?  I thought a while back you said you didn't use a turret.

I use a turret if I have time; however, a true 1 MOA elevation reticle allows very quick and accurate shot placement at extended ranges.

Now I'm confused.  Along with the reticle you use, it also has a turret for adjusting that reticle?

[MichaelJ]

Now I'm confused.  Along with the reticle you use, it also has a turret for adjusting that reticle?

You are correct.  Check out this scope I have on order, its a Vortex Viper PST with thier Mil based reticle, aswell as .1mil click turrets.  As JJ said if you have time you dial in your elevation on your turret, or you can just use the reticle hash marks for a holdover (same thing as with the Nightforce scopes).  If there is a wind blowing you most likely would dial the elevation in your turret, then use the left or right side of the reticle for your wind correction as using the reticle for holding elevation as well as wind would be extremely difficult as you would have to 'guess' where the appropriate windage and elevation reticle lines cross in your scope picture.  Hope that makes sense...

http://www.vortexoptics.com/product/vortex-viper-pst-6-24x50-ffp-riflescope-with-ebr-1-mrad-reticle

If you really want to learn about tactical scopes and what not, see here:
http://www.snipershide.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=378812#Post378812

Mike

[CAMPMEAT]

A friend of mine works for Gunwerks ? ( think that's how you spell it ) He uses the Huskemaw. He loves it. He shoots 1,000 rounds per
week sightin' them in. 

[rbros]

We always dial for elevation.  If the wind is a constant value, then we will dial for windage as well.  The nice thing about the NP-R1 reticle or a similar style, is that is has moa based windage and elevation marks.  If you have a variable wind that is just to shifty, then you can adjust on the fly just before taking the shot.  In windy conditions that are variable, we leave the windage turret alone and call correction just before taking the shot.   The elevation marks come in handy for quick corrections should you hit high or low, no dialing for a followup shot.  This doesn't happen often, but occasionally your range will be correct, but you could have an updraft of downdraft that will cause a miss.  The reticle allows you to see how much you missed by and make a quick correction and followup shot. 

At a bare minimum, in a long range scope, a guy needs elevation and windage turrets, and a reticle with windage marks of some sort.

[elkspert]

My dad went with a Leupold and the turrets he's happy with it but I'm not into dialing a bunch of clicks. I bought a schmidt and bender and had a Holland reticle installed in it. No dialing. Its all in the crossairs. All MOA.

[jbeaumont21]

My opinion Huskemaw is the best long range scope but spendy.

[Jeremiah P]

I shoot a zeiss 6.5-20x50 with target turrets on a 300 RUM in the sendero model. Love the scope and my farthest confirmed distance with accuracy is 1250

[loaderboy]

I just went with a greybull leupold scope on my christensen arms 300 and so far it is awesome. I havent got the custom turret  made yet cause im still working on different handloads. nice scope and is fairly lightweight.

[DRobnsn]

I have a leupold Mark4 6.5-20x50 on my Rem. 700 in 7mm RUM. shooting 168 bergers. I have shot the gun from 100 to 1000 yards. I have zero complaints. I have custom turrets for it as well they don't cost much and leupold gets them to you fast.